Pittsburgh Steelers: Stephon Tuitt, DT
Stephon Tuitt has been a stellar player for the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 but the former second-round pick is coming off a season spent on the injured reserve. He also has some competition behind him as Pittsburgh added DeMarvin Leal from Texas A&M in the third round this year.
Leal was projected as an early day two pick, and could prove to be a steal for Pittsburgh. He would also be much more affordable as the Steelers could save over $9 million by moving on from Tuitt.
As is often the case with a veteran player, health will play a huge part. If Tuitt is 100 percent and back to himself, he could stay. But if not, the financial gain could be too tempting to pass up.
San Francisco 49ers: Dee Ford, EDGE
In three seasons with the San Fransisco 49ers, Dee Ford has played in just 18 games. He has 22 tackles and 9.5 sacks in that span as well, which is less than they expected when they brought him over from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ford enters his fourth season and while the Niners wouldn’t gain much cap space by moving on, they could still decide that’s in their best interest. Making that move seem even more likely is the addition of Drake Jackson from USC, who can do a lot of the things Ford can — he just hasn’t been dealing with the nagging injuries the veteran has.